A Prayer to Push Back Enemy Attacks
By Kelly Balarie
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” - Matthew 6:33 NIV
One of the worst things in the world is opening your heart to a person who doesn’t care. Has this ever happened to you? There you are – sharing intimate details, communicating what is difficult, wanting to be understood and you see the person’s eyes stray off. You notice their hand moving to their pocket. There they go! They reach deep into their pocket and pull out their phone. They check the time. They answer a call. They tap a text message… So much for what you were saying…?! Instead, the phone grabbing person silently communicates to you: “What you’re saying is not nearly as important as my phone.”
My friends, I don’t know about you, but when I find myself in a situation like this, I want to:
- Immediately, stop talking.
- Avoid sharing in the future.
- Walk away.
This can be a big deal. Ignoring causes distancing in a relationship. You don’t continue talking to someone who ignores you. We can use this nugget of truth as we fight back against the attacks of the enemy. The devil won’t bother constantly talking if we go about continually ignoring him.
This is a key thing to know when enemy attacks, torment, ridicule, or problems explode on us.
- When we don’t hear what the devil is saying… by letting it bounce off us.
- When we don’t give weight to what He is doing…by avoiding overthinking about it.
- When we stop valuing how He is attacking us… and praise God anyway.
- When we ignore him…by thanking God that He is good….
His attacks don’t work. No one bothers continually paying attention to one who constantly ignores them.
Our charge is this verse: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” - Matthew 6:33 NIV
We never respond to the devil, and we always and continually respond to God. This is the ticket, my friends. We seek God’s Kingdom and ignore the verbal assault of the one who wants to stop us. We remember our righteousness in Christ Jesus and stop letting the power of yesterday’s repented sin ruin us today. We look to God’s goodness instead of allowing the bombs of circumstances to sway our feelings into places of defeat.
The devil flees targets that are immovable. The greatest attack-back strategy against the enemy – is to stand on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. As we love Christ and His people, God will take care of everything else. We can trust God.
Let’s pray:
Father, the enemy is on my tail. He is using people, problems, predicaments, and pressures to make me feel you’re not near. He is working overtime to defeat me, discourage me, depress me, and try to make me deny the truth. However, today, I rise up against the enemy by putting all my trust in you. I believe your Word. I trust you to defend me. I surrender to your ways. In this, I ignore the accuser’s words and attacks. I turn away from all that he is doing in my life to look to you. You are Faithful. You are our Provider. You are our Healer. I trust you to do what You do. I pray you empower me, by the grace of Jesus Christ to seek first the kingdom of God in everything I do. I put on the breastplate righteousness. I pray that the enemy flees as I trust you. I pray he be made to stand down as I lift my eyes to You. Give me the power to ignore the devil and to adore You. You will take care of everything else.
In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
Photo credit: Image created using DALL.E 2024 ChatGPT AI technology
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
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Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
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Originally published Monday, 10 June 2024.
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